Left car at 3:15am and returned at 12:30am the next night. Definitely took longer than expected. Lead p1 and 3-6. Combined p3&4 and 5&6 easily to make the lower a 4 pitch. Lots of traffic on the lower. Route finding also contributed to time loss. Upper is pretty easy solo in approach shoes. Great weather allowed us to push to summit despite late hour.

Climbed lower and upper Exum from lower saddle on 14th. Hiked to lower saddle on 13th. Conditions were cool and windy, but overall pretty good. Lots of snow up to lower saddle and several patches on the route. Did entire thing in approach shoes. Ice axe needed in several spots.

If I had one complaint of this route, it zig zag placements and a lot of rope drag. Combined with the Upper Exum in 8 hours and got hit with weather on the summit. Highly recommend the complete Exum only in stable high pressure weather conditions.

My first big alpine route turned epic. Climbed with Bill who I met at the ranch the day prior. Great guy wonder what he is upto now? Saved the buts of a father and son crew from SLC that overestimated their readiness. Basically my first rescue to make a long story short. Great mountain. returned once already for Valhalla couloir- will be back ...

Climbed the full ridge in under 2 hours, 11 hours car-to-car. Lost quite a bit of time looking for start. Wasn't even sure I was on route until I got to the black wall, which was super fun. Carried a rope for the raps but rode someone else's line down. Training weight, I guess.

Partner fell after some rocks gave way on our way up the 4th class direct start to the chimney prompting an immediate descent. Thanks to the NPS Rangers and Exum Guides for their help when shit hit the fan at the lower saddle.

One of the best alpine style climbs I have done. Got off route on the black face pitch which was exciting. After reaching the summit we returned to our packs at the lower saddle and found that marmots had eaten all of our food! A woman there with Exum guides hooked us up with two slices of pizza which fueled our descent.

I climbed this route with Frank Florence. We met up with Mike Weber and Frank's dad Lou higher up on Upper Exum. Lou had made several previous attempts to get up the Grand but had been turned back by snow every time. Lou was an original member of the 10th Army Mountain Division and had seen action in Italy in WWII. It was an honor to climb and summit with this member of "The Greatest Generation".

Great route! Led my wife up all pitches then took Wall Street back down. This was a full day in itself... complete with a few route finding complications. The Black Face pitch is simply AMAZING!A fast moving party could do the entire ridge in a day. If you have doubts, split the Lower and Upper into two separate days.

Success on this day? The Lower Exum is a day in itself. We woke well before sunrise to thick smoke from wildfires. Made good time getting to base--axes and crampons completely unnecessary, surprising for June. Made good time on the Lower. Loved the last three pitches. I got a little off route on pitch 6 with long run out on slopers; go a bit right there. Made it past the wind tunnel when the first signs of nasty weather in a week made us turn back. Rappel down to Wall Street with long, winding slog back down. Success? Some of the best pitches of my life. Thanks Justin for being a great comrade.

Zach M and I eschewed with the middle three pitches to beat the clouds rolling in on the peak. Excellent climbing. I should train up and head for the middle section some day. I'd rather climb Owen and Teewinot fisrt.

I climbed this route twice, once with my good friend Christian Szautner. He was intent on hiring Alex Lowe to guide him up it, but I persuaded him to do it with me for free. What magic when at the base of the Black Face, Mr. Lowe appeared with his client. I had the privilege of sharing a belay alcove with Mr. Lowe above the Black Face. I'll never forget watching Mr. Lowe run it out on the Black Face in his ragged, threadbare climbing shoes (or sneakers? I can't remember). What a tragedy it was when he was swept away on Shishapangma in fall 1999. Anyway, this is an awesome, but crowded, route. Get to the base early!